Liberia’s President Joseph Nyuma Boakai says Yekepa, the operational area of a multimillion-dollar iron ore mining project owned by ArcelorMittal, is a ghost town with nothing to show having extracted the country’s resources for over the last 20 years. Despite the dismal record, the steel giant is still seeking to expand its project despite protests that have occasioned the company’s poor performance in Nimba County from residents and traditional leaders.
Speaking at the US-Africa Business Summit in the United States, President Boakai said during the early days of his public service career he saw Yekepa and other mining concession areas vibrant and made tremendous impact that spurred the lives of ordinary citizens unlike what is being witnessed in today’s Liberia.
He insinuated that the concessionaire exploited the Liberian people with the help of powerful individuals. He asserted that under his leadership, investment in Liberia will no longer be “business as usual” but that Liberians will see the impact of every investment in their area.
“These natural resources can not be replenished. So we have to ensure that the country benefits while it is still there. A company cannot just pay salaries and do small corporate social responsibility and that’s all to talk about when that company leaves us. Investment in Liberia now will benefit the company and the people together,” President Boakai emphasized.
The Liberia leader also shed light on his support for the multiuser railway project that is being proposed by major investors in the region. He stressed that the railway is a national asset that cannot be limited to one concession company that is making little impact and then when that company’s operations are completed the country has no use for the asset. “We must ensure the railway is beneficial now while it is in use,” he pointed out.
President Boakai’s support for this monumental project re-echoes the position of the United States Foreign Relations Committee’s position on the matter that has lingered for a few years now.
Liberia is among several other countries that have suffered bad operational lapses at the hands of ArcelorMittal around the world. Some of the countries that have experienced fatal protests due to ArcelorMittal bad labor practices, environmental pollution, and degradation include Bosnia, Kazakhstan, South Africa, France, Mexico, Brazil, Belgium, and India.
The expressed commitment of the Liberian President signals a strong desire to strengthen Liberia’s investment climate which would be beneficial to the concessionaire and the country.
Normal activities of the world iron ore mining giant were halted for days in Nimba County due to sustained protests from host communities backed by their traditional society. The communities, mainly from Sehyi, Yarmein, and Zor Chiefdoms accused the company of not living up to the Mineral Development Agreement (MDA) signed with the Government of Liberia and its social corporate responsibility to the communities.
They are demanding improved roads connecting the communities, employment of locals, restoration of facilities in Yekepa, as well as resolving environmental, water, sewage, and health conditions.
In February this year, Nimba County District #9 Representative Taa Wongbe said he was disappointed after a meeting with ArcelorMittal, Joep Coenen during the company refused to show records of their revenue intake from the Liberia mining operations.
Representative Wongbe stressed “it is disheartening to see a company that boasts about investing in Liberia and training people unable to disclose what percentage of their 79 billion global revenue comes from Liberia. They only provide US$3.5 million annually for social development. That is not enough. It is time for companies like ArcelorMittal to be transparent and accountable,” the Nimba County lawmaker maintained.
Unlike ArcelorMittal, the former Liberian-American Swedish Mining Company (LAMCO) between 1958-1959 of Planning, engineering phase of their investment forecasted over US$200M. Few years later, Bethlehem Steel acquired 25% of the project and guaranteed 25% of the financing and 25% of the sales. The remaining 75% was shared equally with the Government of Liberia 37.5% and LAMCO, 37.5%.
Consequenctly, from 1960-1963 , the was massive construction, huge Employment in Nimba, Railroad, Harbor, Maintenance works; Roads, Schools , Hospitals, Houses, Offices in Yekepa and Buchanan. 15th of November inaugurated by the late Pres William V.S. Tubman,1973 $600M, Declared in Profits
